Method of destroying stumps



E. S. PHILLIPS. METHOD 0F DESTROYING STUIVIPS.

APPLICATION man Nov. 2x. 191e.

maw@

E. S. PHILLIPS.

METHOD 0F DESTROYING STUMPS.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 2|, |918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

gPetenteiil Nev. 2li,

EDVVRD S. vPHILLIPS, OF SEATTLE, .VASl-IETGTN.

tETl-IODOF DESTROYING STUMPS.

Application filed November 21, 1918. Serial No. 253,566.

To all whom t may concer,

Be it lrnown that l, EDWARD S. PHILLIPs, a citizen oi the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of lllashington, have invented certain new and useful improvements in h/lethods or Destroying titumps7 of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a novel method of destroying stumps by tire.

ln the development of my method I have in view the principle that heat must be applied for a considerable length of time, as compared with the length o't time consumed in the carrying out oit other methods, so that the destructionl of the stump and its roots will be relatively slow but complete. While l will hereinafter reifer to destruction of stumps by my method, l contemplate primarily the burning ot the stump so as to provide for its complete loosening and separation from the soil and the destruction of substantially all oi the roots, at the same time not necessarily destroying the body of the stump so that should it prove profitable to do so, the unburned stump maybe saved ior future treatment for the purpose of eX- tracting the various chemical products which may be obtained from wood by the well-known processes of destructive distillation. the primary object of importance is the burning out oi the roots of the stump so that these roots will not be encountered when the land is tilled, and it is with this object that my invention is chieiiy concerned, the destruction of the body oit the stump or its salvage forfuture treatn ment for the removal ot its volatile constitu ents being a matter ot secondary consideration. 'in ifonsiderziition of the foregoing the present invention contemplates a method which may be carried out at little expense for labor or :fuel and which, while contemplating' the relatively slow destruction of the stump, may be employed in acting simultaneously upon any desired number of stumps.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view partly in perspective and partly in section illustrating in ageneral manner the method oli the invention;

Fig. 2 is a. perspective view ot' the burner nozzle. of the apparatus; y

llig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the'burner nozzle.

Fig. is a side elevation of the burner.

ln tart rllhe burner of the apparatus is indicated in general by the reference numeral 1 and includes a nozzle section 2, a section 3 which leads substantially at right angles from the intake end of the nozzle section, and a section e which leads at a more or less obtuse angle from the section 3. The nozzle section 2 comprises an outer tube 5 to the discharge end or' which is fitted the lower end 7 of a nozzle 5 comprising a cylindrical body 8 interiorly threaded between its ends as at 9 and at its upper end as at 10 and provided with a lateral branch 11. A tip 13 is threaded into the branch 11 and nhas an axial passage 14 of relatively small diameter through which air is discharged, the air being supplied through the saidpipe 5. ln order that air may be supplied under pressure, a s"if-coupling 15 has one branch litted to the outer end ot the outer tube of the section L1, as clearly shown in Fig. i ot the drawings,r and fitted into another branch of this coupling is a supply pipe 16 which leads from any suitable air compressor illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1 and indicated by the numeral 17.

Fuel is discharged from the nozzle 6 through a tip 18 iitted into the upper end ot the body 3 oi the nozzle, this tip having a discharge orifice 19 provided with a lateral branch 20 presented in the same direction as the discharge end of the tip 13. Liquid fuel is conveyed by gravity. from a supply tanlr 21 through a pipe l22 which pipe is iitted through the coupling 15 and extends within the outer pipes ot' the sections and i ot the: burner. lVithin the outer pipe o1 the section 3 of the burner and substantially at the juncture of this section with the section 2, the pipe 2i). opens into the lower end 23 ot a tube 9A which eirtends axially within the section 9. of the burner and is iitted into a bushing 25 which in turn is arranged within the nozzle 6 above the jet 13. This bushing 25 closes the branch 8 except to the fuel or steam vapor discharged from the upper end of the tube 24, and thus air fed under pressure to the air conducting pipes for discharge through the jet 13 cannot commingle within the burner with the fuel or steam vapor supplied through the pipe 22. A. heat conducting member is provided and comprises a rod 26 provided at suitable points in its length with radially projecting spacing studs or protuberances 27. By reason of the provision of these studs, the surface of the rod 2G spaced from the wall of. the tube so that passage of vaporized fuel upwardly through the tube and into the space between the jet 18 and bushing 25 is not in any way interfered with. At this point it will be understood that when the burner is in operation it will become more or less highlyheate-d at least throughout its nozzle section 2 andthe heat will be conducted to the rod 25 which will thus become heated at its lower end to a temperature sufficiently high to immediately volatilize the liquid fuel fed through the lower end of the tube 2li to the pipe 22.

' In order to provide against the rapid feed of oil from the tank 21 through any suction created in the pipe Q2 or tube 2li, it is preferable that the pipe at any suitable. point, as for example adjacent the tank 2l, be provided in its upper side with one or more small openings E28 to admit air. i

ln Fig. l of the drawings there is dia'- grammatically illustrated a source of steam supply indicated bythe numeral 29, and a pipe SOleads from this supply to the pipe 22 and communicates therewith, a valve 8l being preferably provided in the pipe 22 between the tank 21 and the point of juncture of theppipe 30 with the said pipe 22, and a valve 32being also preferably provided in the length of the pipe 30.

i For convenience in describing the method involving the present invention, the stump to be destroyed is indicated in Fig. l of the drawings by the reference letter A and the soil into which the roots of the stumpl extend, by the reference letter B, the reference letter C indicating' a .pit which will be presently referred to, the letter D indicating combustible material, the letters E and E indicating certain plates which are einployed about the stump, letter F loose soil to be placed uPOIl the plates E and E and i. the letter F other loose soil to he placed about a portion of the burner. Carrying out the method the pit (l is lirst termed by blasting out the soil from beneath the body of the trunk and around the roots oil" the trunk where they join the trunk. Ordinarily this pit will be of about the depth and extent illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings but, it may be shallower or deeper or of greater or less breadth depending 'upon varying conditions which will be encountered. In producing this pit enough soil is removed from beneath the trunk to permit of the placing of one or any suitable number of charges ofaslow explosivesuch for example as, twenty-per cent dynamite, these charges being placed at a depth of two or three feet and after placing being exploded so as to blow ont the soil for the purpose stated. This explosive charge employed in the manner stated serves diated heat as possible.

insects not only to produce the pit required for the carrying out of the other steps of the method, but, also it serves to some extent to break up the roots and especially to loosen the roots in the soil. Any loose soil left in the pit after the explosion of the charge may be ref moved in any convenient manner and when the pit has been suiiiciently cleared, the coinbustible material D which may consist of brush, branches of trees, pieces of decayed log, bark, pine cones, etc., is deposited within the pit in suitable quantity after which a number ofthe plates E are brought into use and employed as will now be explained. These plates E may be of sheet asbestos, of

sheet metal, or of any other suitable heat resisting material, and may be of various sizes and shapes, selected ones of the plates of suitable sizes and. shapes being dispossed upon the upper sides of the roots of the stump in a manner to span adjacent roots as shown in Fig. l, and'tc extend to or substamy tially to the edge of the pit. After these plates have been suitably arranged the loose soil F is disposed uponthe plates so as to hold them lin position and also to retard or prevent too great radiation ot heatfrom the plates which would only result in waste ot heat. The*arrangement oi" the plates may differ under different conditions but ordinarily it will be found advisable to so arrange the plates to span all adjacent roots with the exception of one or two atone or bothv sides of the point at ywhich the burner of the apparatus is to be located. The object in view in making use of the plates E is to forni in effect a roof for the pit so that the walls of the pit, the said plates, and the under side oit the trunk and itsroots will in etlect'foim a fire boxv in which combustion may be effected with the loss of as little ra- The burner is next placedk in about'the position shown in Fig. l, prellerably first preparing a suitable channel or valley .inte which the sections 3 and 4L are laid in the manner shown in Fig. l with the burner" section 2, extending in a general upward direction 4and located wholly 'within the pit and beneath the stump. The loose soil F is then deposited about the sections 3 and 4t of the burner which extend below the ground level so that these sections will be in a sense protected from the intense heat which is to be generated within the improvised lire box. The obj ect in view in leaving one or more spaces unspanned by the plates E at one or both sides of the point of location of the burner is, of course, to provide forvdraft. lf desired the plates E may be brought into use and placed in position over` lapping` the inner ends of the plates E to prevent the loose soil F sifting-down between the said plates E and the stump and its roots. The soil F may bev the soil removed in 'forming the pit C or it may be sand7 clay, or soil of any other nature.; also it may be sod. While Fig. l of the drawings illustrates but a single burner, two or more of the burners might be placed in position, the burner, where a single one is employed, being placed upon the Windward side of the stump. W'here more than one burner is employed, the burners may be arranged as dictated by conditions and, of course, they may be operated simultaneously or separately at desired intervals.

The burner having been placed and the other preparations having been made as above pointed out, the valve 31 is opened, thus permitting the feed of liquid fuel to the burner and wien the fuel appears at the orifice 20, the combustible material .D is lighted and the air compressor i7 is set in operation', thus supplying air to the burning fuel within the pit. At this time the roots and the portion of the body of the stump exposed to the flames will begin to exude sap and other volatile combustible substances contained therein7 thus forming an auxiliary supply of fuel. After about twelve hours time an examination should disclose the presence of considerable quantity of coals and there should be practically incandescence in at least several places. then these conditions are noted an additional quantity of the material D either dry or water-soaked may be added in small portions7 care being taken not to supply too great a quantity at any one time. When the generation of heat is general, the supply of liquid fuel` from the tank 2l may be cut off and the valve 30 opened to admit steam to the burner nozzle where it will be discharged through the jet 18. As before stated, a condition of incandescence has been reached at this stage of the operation, and the admitted steam, in the presence of the carbon and under the high temperature7 will result in the production, as in the manufacture of Watergas, of carbonanonoxide and hydrogen which mixture of gases then serves as the chief source of fuel supply in the continued carrying out of the burning. Of course, the air is not supplied continuously through the burner nozzle but it is employed chiefly as a means for boosting7 the combustion when it does not appear to the operator that this is proceeding as satisfactorily as desired. After the operation has continued for several days, some portions of the roots will be seen to have been completely burnt out and the sides of the pit may partly or wholly cave in.

F rom the foregoing description of the method involving the invention, it will be understood that due to the intense heat generated within the pit and beneath the stump and further due to the relativelylong continued generation of this heat, the roots of the stump will be practically thoroughly dried out substantially if not completely to their extremities and will eventually be destroyed by the flames which will then more readily reach them as they have been loosened through the explosion of the charge in forming the pit. By reason of this fact, there will be practically no roots left in the ground to offer obstructions to tillage and yet it is not necessary that the entire stump be actually destroyed by burning.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. The method of destroying stumps which consists in exploding a charge beneath the stump to provide for the formation of a pit beneath the stump and to loosen the roots of the stump, roofing the pit, maintaining a ire within the pit to produce a mass of incandescent fuel7 and discharging a jet of steam against said mass.

2. The method of destroying stumps which consists in forming a pit beneath the stump7 building a fire within the pit7 and, when the fuel and surrounding material has reached a. state of incandescence, introducing steam into the pit against the incandescent mass of fuel.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature.

EDWARD Parrains. [La] 

